August Break - End and Beginning of new Quilt Plan

Last day of August, I bet you already knew that, though!

Time to ramp up the activity and I have a few new plans in the works...

I am trying to figure out the measurements, etc for a quilt I saw on the internet, They called it the Baby Roller Rink Quilt, but now I can't remember what web page it was on, or what book it comes from, and since i am poor (maybe you should call that cheap) I am not likely to buy the book or the pattern if I can get it figured out on my own, which of course is not so good for the person who is trying to sell, the pattern... Hmmmm, how can I justify this?   I'm looking at a photo that I am figuring out myself? is that like interpreting a Picasso into a chalk drawing on the sidewalk?   Oh well, I'm doing it and we shall see how it comes out!

Other things in the works, crocheting a afghan, all in dark grey, that could be rather depressing!  But I am using one of those cool lacy stitch designs from my Complete Book of Crochet Stitches

And after a lazy summer and a summer of very slow sales in my etsy shop, I am planning on adding alot of buttons into my ETSY shop.

Oh, and I am going to try and talk my dear hubby into taking me to the seaside for a picnic today...

Work In Progress -- Door Quilt

Winter's coming!  Well it is always coming, but it is best to think of how to keep warm before you have to scramble to find ways while you shiver...

My work-in-progress project today is a Door Quilt.  Did you ever hear of such a thing?  I started making them quite a few years ago when we first rented a house with hollow-core doors.  Can hardly believe that someone would put together a house using indoor doors as the outside doors, but there you go, someone did. And as renters we had to make-do with a cheap landlord for a couple of those winters and one of those winters was the year where we had a record snowfall!

 So, how to keep in the precious heat and not spend alot of dollars on a rented house.  Well, A door quilt, seemed logical.   I made one for that house, then the next time I made one it was for the exact opposite reason, how to keep the heat out in summer!  We had a condo, west facing with the door to the patio deck being very well built, except it was glass, double pane glass but glass intensifys the hot sun on a summer afternoon.  So the cure: A Door Quilt.

Now this Door Quilt will serve double duty.  It will be a Door Quilt -- but for an inside door and meant only for decoration, and it will be a class sample.  I will be teaching a class, in a couple or three months so to entice people to take the class, it needs a project to demonstrate what the class is about...

And, to keep Walter occupied while I was sewing, I spread a bit of catnip on his favourite chair -- he spends an hour or so rolling and digging down the sides, then when he gets tired out from being stoned, he lays down and naps for the rest of the afternoon...  I never knew a cat who loved his catnip so much!

Linking up with The Needle and Thread Network today, so go see what other Canadian needle artists are doing this week!

August Break - Long ago and Far Away

One of those photos that a family keeps but was taken so long ago that no one really remembers who each person in this photo was.

It says on the back of the photo George and Elizabeth 1901.

 

I do know that they were my great - grandparents, but which of the people in the photo that it might be??

 

George and Elizabeth were headed for Canada, from London England.  George though died before they got there.  Elizabeth, pregnant at the time with my grandmother went to Canada anyway, along with here two sons.  Soon after arrival in Montreal, she met and married, and raised her children with Adam on a farm in south west Manitoba.

Exploring - Crochet Stitches

I got this HUGE book on Friday last week ( The Complete Book of Crochet Stitches by Linda P. Schapper and published by Lark Crafts).  500 different crochet stitch patterns! Facinating, useful and very well organized.

I don't necessarily start at the beginning, but in this case, almost at the beginning.  #2 in the book is a simple single crochet variation that really UPGRADES the simple single crochet stitch.  I have an old stitch book from the 1960s that names this stitch as Bushy stitch.

 

My photo of the page is a bit blurry but you might see that it is slightly different but yet only uses single crochet stitches.

 

Here is my version of this stitch done with a 100% unknown fibre that was purchased at the 2nd hand store quite a while ago, close up I think it looks quite nice.  I am making a small clutch type bag with this so the close stitches with a bit of a pattern makes it just right for the bag I think.

 

 

You might notice that I started at the bottom with a regular single crochet stitch and changed to the #2 or bushy stitch just above the lower pink section.  I may never go back to the regular single crochet!  I think this looks somewhat like the 'seed' stitch which is an alternating sc/dc stitch but is much easier and quicker too!

What do you think of it?

Now the second stitch I played around with was #18 in the book and is a double crochet and chain stitch combination.  Very Lacy and not at all complicated even though it takes 7 rows to create the pattern.  This would make a really nice pattern for a summer shawl or wrap and I think that's just what I may use this for, if I can find a yarn to use.   The yarn, here, is again a scrappy bit, I would say a sport weight, and again, probably an acrylic, cause it has no label but is nicely held together and not fluffy...

 

This little sample is not blocked, but for a larger project, whatever yarn is used I would think it needs to be blocked to show the lacey effect to best advantage.

 

 

This little sample is only 36 stitches wide and would show much nicer when used in a wider format.   And being a fairly simple combination of stitches, once you have worked up a repeat of the design, it is easy to keep track of which row to do at what point.  Easy and Quick!  I know I will be using this pattern soon...

 

Whether Quilting or Crochet it is always interesting to do up sample pieces, just for the excercise and to explore how something works.  I know I will be exploring more of these stitches in the weeks to come.  This is such a useful book!

 

I'm the Feature! on Feature Friday!

Sometimes I scare myself!  I am supposed to tell you a bit more about myself and my accomplishments so that those who follow up on the Feature Friday post over at The Needle and Thread Network can get to know me a bit better.  Do you really want to do that?  Oh Well, you are here now, so you may as well continue reading, hey?

 

Like anybody in this world, I certainly have alot of things in common with the rest of humanity but I suspect this blog post is supposed to tell you about the things that I think are a bit different about me.

 

I am not a Rose in the garden, tho I certainly do love Gardens and Roses are wonderful in their place, but I am a Dandylion.  There are alot of Dandylions in the world but you usually find them just where they upset the balance and cause problems.  As a Dandylion I am somewhat contrary to many of the people's thoughts and opinions around me, but I know I have a special bit of brightness and that's what people like about me and what they find most frustrating, too.

 

I am mainly a quiltmaker, it is my hobby but I think it has become a major part of my life, so it is my work too.  On the Feature Friday blog post it mentions that I have created a quilt (which is just a top so far) made from Moda's French General fabrics.  I won a jelly roll and a couple of charm packs of this fabric and below is the completed top -- I am planning to hand quilt this one.   Just one of those really special ones and I want to give it a special finish.

 

 

I am a long time quiltmaker and I am very lucky to have my own sewing space.  A few years back I was able to buy my dream sewing machine and even though I loved my old Kenmore -- with its stitch 'cams' it was not long before my Janome took centre stage and became my Workhorse.   Like others who don't have to put away the sewing machine, my workspace tends to get a bit messy and crowded with at least one project if not two or three stacked up beside or behind the machine or even tacked up in plastic bags on the wall around the machine.

You might be able to tell that I am working on some dresden plate blocks.  This pile of pieced dresdens are going to serve two purposes, beyond the obvious -- to make a quilt of some sort.  First, I was asked to teach a machine applique class for my guild later this year, so I am working on creating the SAMPLE, which I am planning as a fairly large table runner.  I can hardly wait to see how it turns out!  That is the funnest part of creating, isn't it?  Even though we might have an idea of a project, it is not till it is done that we really know how successful the project was!

The second purpose of these Dresden blocks is going to be as blocks for sale in my Etsy Store.   I am not getting rich selling things on line but I really am enjoying, making and selecting and even de- stashing my own stuff and going through the process of photographing, describing and posting things to sell in my store.  I try to keep things to sewing related, but I do venture off into other areas.  I have a lot of Vintage sewing things, clothing patterns from the 1960's and 70's, wooden thread spools and Buttons, mostly vintage and unusual finds.  Take a look if you are so inclined at http://www.etsy.com/shop/susanbeingsnippy

Did you ever wonder what an online shop looked like, while it was not online?

 

I try to keep it all reasonably organized so that I can find what someone has ordered.  There it is, though.  The white plastic drawers are filled with toques and scarves that I have been making in anticipation for the fall and winter and soon will be posted in the shop.  Also not on those shelves right now is some Christmas Goodies -- Vintage things that I can hardly wait to show, but not just yet.  I don't want to be a Costco and have Christmas stuff out on the shelves in Summer!

 

So that is just a bit more about me, and if you should want to come by to visit or even if you need a few sewing or quilting or even crochet tips, here is a picture of my front door!  If I don't get to the door right away,( cause I live in a townhouse that is what is called a 3 level split which means we actually have 6 levels), you can sit on the very old church pew for the minute or two while I get down to the door...

 

 

My tagline:   "She was always dreaming and thinking odd things."  from the book The Little Princess by Frances H. Burnett

PS... And just now arrived in my mailbox is the fall issue of Canadian Quilter Magazine.  AND.  I am in there too!  Totally forgot!  On page 52 is an article I wrote, Just a Click away, so check it out if you have a subscription to the magazine!

Work in Progress Wednesday - Crochet, New Books

I got a parcel yesterday from AMAZON.ca!  After much indecision, I ordered two books that I have been seeing "reviewed" by other bloggers and because I had a gift card, I went ahead and ordered two crochet books.   They are excellent purchases!  I am going to go so far as to say they will be an essential part of my craft library!

 

First I spent about an hour just turning pages and looking at pictures...

 

 

From the "Crochet Motifs" book I had such a hard time picking out a favourite motif to try, I kept going back and forth between designs.

Then I thought I would start at the beginning.  I made motif #2 this morning.  It took only about 10 minutes to do up this sample.  I used the first scraps of yarn I could find -- a worsted weight.   As soon as I got this one done, I was thinking if I made 10 or so just like it and strung them together, it would make a pretty Christmas Scarf .  At that rate I could have a scarf done in a couple of hours...

The thing that I really like about both these books is that you might call them Modern Crochet.  Each instruction is not only written out but also has the symbol/diagram system.  If you have not figured out the symbol system, both these books explain it and how to use it -- It is way easier to keep track of where you are in a project if you follow the symbols.

Many years ago, my grandmother gave me a crochet and knitting book called Mon Tricot, and I have used it over and over and over these many years -- one of its drawbacks is that it was written using the ENGLISH/EUROPEAN method, so I had to convert the shorthand, dc to sc, htdc to dc and so on.  These two books are both using the AMERICAN system of names for the stitches.

"The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs"  is really well organized in that it starts with the simplest designs based on single crochet and chain stitches and progresses through the various basic stitches to make very complicated crochet patterns.

I recently found a sweater pattern that I want to make up but am so dismayed that it uses only single crochet throughout.  Now going through the "The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs" I am liking the above pattern and am going to see if I can convert the stitches of the sweater from boring old single crochet to this pattern, Simple Shells.

I know these two books will keep me occupied for the next little while and much beyond as references.  
I can hardly wait to dig deeper into the pages and play with stitch designs and motifs!  It will be hard to settle on just one crochet project with so many new choices in front of me!

Super Summer Snippy Challenge - Part 11

It is getting close to the end of my self imposed challenge and I have reached my main goal, which was to make 10 quilt tops for donation to local needs.  YIPPEE!

First up is one of the earliest quilt tops that I did.  It is finished up and has been delivered through Quilts of Valour to CFB Chilliwack where it will be passed along to one of our current or former military personnel.

Carolyn send me this photo of the finished quilt.

I really liked this one, and almost kept it for myself -- but this was done a while back and as things progressed I liked each quilt top that I put together better than the last, so it wasn't too hard to send it along to Quilts of Valour.

Today.

I finished the 10th quilt.

I have been procrastinating with this last one, mainly because I didn't know "where it was going".  Now if you have been following my progress this summer one thing about all these quilts is that they are based on 3.5 inch squares, or strips that are 3.5 inches wide and whatever length...   I still had quite a few already cut 3.5 inch squares and wanted to really make a dent in the pile with this NUMBER 10 quilt.

It started out in CHUNKS...

Then almost like magic it fit together like a puzzle and I added a couple of borders to complete this interesting beauty!

Would you call it INTERESTING? or just Plain ole` NUMBER 10?

The statistics of this quilt are:

280 - 3.5 inch squares make up this quilt (the second highest number of squares in one of these challenge quilts)

It is 14 squares wide by 20 squares long.

The quilt has a narrow 1.25 inch inside border and then a 4.5 inch wide outside border.

The total quilt measures 53 inches by 71 inches.

I also made 260 inches of binding for the finished edge of this quilt.

So, now the question is, even tho I have a couple weeks before my deadline, do I see if I can fit another quilt in, or do I rest on my "laurels" and call it finished?  HMMMM....

and just cause he is so pretty sitting up on the 2nd story balcony of our townhouse, here is a pic of WALTER looking down on me, as any good cat is want to do!

 

** updated to add ***

I have made a "Page" where you can see all the quilts that are included in this Super Summer Snippy Challenge together.  Just go to the top of my page and click on the tab that says Supper Summer Snippy Challenge!

 

NOW, onto a bit of something new...

 

I think, Applique...  Dresden Plates?!

August Break - Saskatchewan

In August 2009 my love and I went on a drive that spanned three weeks.  We drove from Abbotsford, British Columbia to Winnipeg, Manitoba and back again.  We avoided the major highways and wandered up and down secondary roads and bumpy gravel roads.   This abandoned farmstead is in the south central area of Saskatchewan along a most enjoyable stretch of road that was wandering up and down rolling hills.  It was my favourite stretch of road in all the three weeks.

I am linked up with the BEAUTY themed photo party at Small Things.

Artist Trading Card Swap

I almost forgot that I had an ARTY muscle that I liked to stretch out every now and then!  Lately I have been doing Classics, Traditional, and Simple...(and other people's patterns)

Then I saw an invitation to be part of a ATC swap at the Artists in Blogland Blog and that ARTY muscle started to twitch!  So I signed on and am taking part in the swap.   The cards for the swap are to be at their destinations by the end of August but it has taken me almost three weeks for my ARTY muscle to work up a few cards that made me happy (I probably made at least 20 that were not pleasing so they went into the G file)

A few years back (2007) I actually had a card that I created included into a book that was put out by the people at Quilting Arts Magazine...

On a Whim I had sent in my versions of what I thought were Artist Trading Cards and the editor chose to include my little "Charmed Butterfly" which became 0975 in the book...

Sandwiched inbetween two other very lovely cards was my card which was made with a scrap of polka dot fabric glued to cardstock, then a real pressed flower blossom (or was it a weed from the empty lot next door?) and a metal butterfly charm.  

The idea behind these little cards, at least in my opinion is not just to create something to trade - usually via MAIL so that the postal services don't go out of business - is to give our brains a little creative stretch (as are fabric post cards).   Sometimes these little creations can make those of us who feel the need to use a bit of creative genius that comes out now and then, but not enough to make us famous or even locally known, just a little stretch, not too much and not too often, though...

So for this Swap, those taking part were asked to create two cards each for three people.   I wanted the cards I sent out to be thoughtful but not complicated.  I wanted them to be different and yet show something of ME.   I like Vintage.  It was a forgone conclusion that I use or create something that showed some true vintage and yet teach something too.  So I cut out some backpage Advertisements from a 1968 Good Housekeeping magazine that I have been using for years for various paper arts...  To the ads, I put on a bit of fuzzy selvedge, just cause it was on the worktable at the time I was making this set of cards.  A coat or two or three of varnish, to slightly yellow the paper and the cards were done.  

The second set of three cards are fabric based -- I love to sew!  Now, being a long time sewist, quilter and other fabric related enthusiast, these cards had to show Fabric.

Into the fabric scrap basket and I pulled out a few little bits, one that was hearts and flowers and one with cheetahs.  The cheetah fabric scrap was barely 3 1/2 inches square so it was only enough for one card and the scrap with hearts and stars and bars was enough for the other two cards.   The fabric was glued onto cardstock and since my sewing machine was right beside me and ready to "roll"  I sewed on some lace and rickrack to trim each card.

For me, both sets make me feel like I used my ARTY muscle and did not whimp out and do these too easy or too lazy.  Of course everyone has their own opinion of art and of course THE ARTIST generally thinks their own stuff is pretty good, but the true test is when someone else acknowledges that it is "pretty good" not necessarily great, but good enough that they can spend a moment enjoying what they are seeing...

So those are the cards I am sending out in this swap. 

Waddaya Think?

Interesting Things Round-up

It has been quite awhile since I did a post about some of the interesting things that I have discovered while exploring on the internet.

I know there is a bit of SNOBBERY when it comes to yarn.  Wool, real sheeps wool, alpaca, silk, bamboo and even cotton is on the SPECIAL list for many needle folk...  Ah, but seems to me you can find ACRYLIC and the ACRYLIC blends everywhere, so these yarns must also sell!   I came across a blog that explains how to make those acrylic scratchy yarns much softer.   I haven't tried it yet but will do so in the next couple of days.

Go read How to Soften Scratchy Yarn (just click on the highlighted text)

Are you needing a small clutch style bag to carry while on short hops to the store or a small bag to hold onto when you are visiting the dentist?  A crochet hook and some pretty fabric along with a nice yarn (yes, even that softened acrylic yarn) will make up a very nice bag, complete crochet instructions along with how to line the bag can be found at BY NUMBER 19

Now this site has nothing to do with sewing or crochet or craft, unless you consider looking at Nature to be a craft!  This is one of my very favourite websites when I just want to see pretty and interesting things in this world.

Check out National Geographics Photo of the Day  one very outstanding photo each day and you can look back and back and back, keep going -- I have no idea when it started but the number of days that you want to look at it practically endless...

Last one...

I have started to notice a old craft coming back - in the 1970's I learned some of the knots used in macrame and made planters for both my Mother and myself.  I even knotted a piece that I made into a tote bag and lined with a pair of used jeans -- very 70's!

The macrame now though has a somewhat refined image and here is a tutorial for making some charm bracelets using beginner knots.  Go to this DIY Macrame Bracelet for full instruction

Those should keep you busy for a bit! Enjoy!

Works in Progress even tho August Break continues

The "too hot for me" days continue here in The Fraser Valley (Vancouver to Hope along the Mighty Fraser River) so I am not doing more than I have to.

This week started with bringing out a WIP that I started 6 years ago!  I am hand piecing a variation of hexagons, hexagons that are made up of diamonds and hexagons and parallelagrams.   I have 12 blocks done and I don't know how many more to go...

As long as I keep watering my little container garden, it keeps me happily pretending I am a artistic photographer.

I rescued these daisies? from a dumpster about 10 days ago - yeah I know, I just can't help it, its like rescuing kittens... They were dry and bare rooted but there was still some green... a bit of TLC and they are blooming just for me!

I am so pleased with these white petunias, I may never buy colours again... White Petunias and Red, Red Geraniums are what my eyes adore...

Today, Linking up with the Needle and Thread Network for the 1 year Anniversary and trying to stick with the August Break - blog posts, short and sweet...

Clearance Bin

I wandered through the local Michael's store the other day -- with my coupon in hand.  This is what I found, and the coupon didn't apply.  It was marked down from $11.99 to a buck 50!

With a few touches of paint from my crafty stash stuff....

It soon became part of my excentric garden, nestled in the pot of geraniums.

August Break

I have decided to take part in a organized slow time.  For the next couple of weeks, I will not be writing tutorials or extra long stories or going off on strange tangents...

I am on August Break as of today.

The idea comes from Susannah Conway who has a link-up of all the blogs that have decided to join in on the August Break

 

To explain - August Break is not a complete abandonment of this blog for the next three weeks, it is a step away from the computer but still not too far away.  I will continue to post something, short and sweet perhaps just a couple of photos or perhaps a sentence or two. 

Come by and visit me tho as I will keep you up to date and I promise you won't have to spend any more of your time sitting at the computer that I did to post blog updates...

Walter, too fast for the camera.

Super Summer Snippy Challenge - First Results (part 10)

This morning when I took my breakfast up to my 'office' to check out what may have arrived in my email inbox, I found that Carolyn - who is the BC area rep for Quilts of Valour had sent me this photo.

This is the first top that I had put together for my Summer Challenge, and now here it is layered, quilted and bound, (not by me, tho)  now it is destined to CFB Chilliwack this week. 

Very nice feeling to see how things progress and to know the benefit the creative process can have.

**** update***

If you go and check out Carolyn's blog at http://rosyquilter.blogspot.ca/2012/08/honour-house-delivery.html?showComment=1344389526236  you will see more photos of quilts that are being donated to our soldiers or their families.  There is a link on Carolyn's blog that connects to Honour House where she took that batch of quilts.

******

Snip of Life

Finally into mid-summer and the sun is shining and the temperatures have reached the point where we can now complain that it is too hot!  One thing that we Canadians are known for is that we often talk WEATHER.  How's the weather today?  Fine, fine, except that after a morning windstorm, it rained for 3 hours and the sun came out and it was so hot we could hardly breathe!  Yep, thats weather here in Canada.  If nothing exciting is happening weatherwise we complain about that too!  One side of the country brags about a great weather day while the other side of the country suffers through a snowstorm in June!

Today, where I am it is getting a bit warm, but there is no rain or wind or snow in the forecast.   This spring was very wet and cloudy and put all the flowers and plants a bit behind, but now my yard is greening up.  Finally.  And just for a bit of fun, I decided to spend a half hour in my steamy hot sewing room (third floor of a 3 level townhouse) and make a colourful banner with scrappy snips of fabric and string it across my yard.

As usual my Dear (Damn) husband thinks it is weird.  I had dragged him around to a couple of secondhand stores earlier in the week because I wanted to string Christmas lights across where the banner is, but it's not Christmas time and even if they have them in the back -- I was told by a really snippy fellow at one store -- they don't sell them in summer and "too bad for you lady" is what he said.... hmmf!  Like I am going to let a uppity young man dash my ideas!

Even tho a couple of strings of lights would brighten my yard on a hot summer night, my home created banner will brighten the yard all day long!   Now, after all the effort (enjoyed effort) I can go sit on my swing with a skein of red yarn and make myself some crochet slippers for the cool days coming...

So, how's the weather where you are?

By the way, see that strawberry plant down there on the right hand side?  I picked a bowl of strawberries from it for my breakfast today and topped them with a half cup of yogurt.  It may be the only produce from my little corral of delight, but they tasted worth the wait of another year for a bowl of berries!

Work in Progress Wednesday - Quilt Crimes

This WIP was so old that children have been born, started school and are into grade 3 or 4 since this quilt was first begun!

This quilt is what I call my "MILLENNIUM LEFTOVERS".  A great many of the fabrics in the quilt, in particular the 2.5 inch squares were aquired in a number of swaps for the purpose of making a quilt with 2000 different fabrics, so most of the fabrics in this are pre- 2000...   I did make the millennium quilt that was the goal of collecting and it was complete before the end of the year 2000.  There were still many more fabrics that I had swapped for that were either repeats or just were not chosen to fit in the Millenium Quilt.

Now, this Leftovers project did not start out to be full of quilt crimes but there it is, a quilt of criminal proportion!

What crimes were committed in the creation of this quilt?

 # 1, was that the backing fabric, is a BED SHEET! -  a blue floral at that! 

Now, in my defense, I must say that it was a gifted sheet and it is 100% cotton.  The QUILT RULE (who makes up this stuff?) says that you should NEVER use a sheet for backing a quilt.  Why is that?  The reason that you shouldn't use bed sheets in your quilts is because sheets are made of a much higher thread count than quilting fabrics and because of that it makes it difficult to hand quilt through it.   My defence -- I machine quilted it and my machine did not complain at all!

#2 -- the backing bed sheet doesn't even come close to matching any of the fabrics on the front of the quilt.  

What is the reason that the back should match the front in some way?  I suspect it is so that you can spend time admiring more fabric in the quilt shops til you find just the right one, then buy 8 meters of it at $16.00 a meter...   Or perhaps it does satisfy certain estetics when it comes to decorating rules or maybe even feng shi?  Oh Well, ARREST me!

#3  This isn't even a proper quilt because it doesn't have THREE layers!

Sometimes you just don't want a regular quilt to snuggle under.  Just because I live in CANADA doesn't mean that it is WINTER all the time.  We do get summer, so this is a Summer Quilt.  The purpose is so that on those extra warm nights, a regular quilt is too much, but if you have a fan running, a top sheet is not quite enough (it can blow off the bed if you have the fan at top speed! and then if you accidently open your eyes you have to look at the fat old guy on the other side of the bed!)  A pieced top and a bedsheet sewn together makes the perfect summer quilt.

#4  This quilt was not quilted from the centre out, you should always start in the centre when you quilt!  

I have to agree that in most cases this is true, but since I didn't put any batting in this quilt.  I started at the top and simply lined up the top edge of the top and the top (torn) edge of the bedsheet.   I do not have a quilt frame to lay out and stretch and smooth and line up everything.  I stitched across the width of the quilt, every 4 inches and pushed and pulled and smoothed it as I went.  As LUCK (was it luck?) would have it, by the time I got to the other end of the quilt I had no puckers or bumps or stretched bits.

#5 When you sew the binding down you should pin it all around and then hand stitch the back down so it is nice and even.

NOPE!  I never pin my binding, never, never, never.   When I flip it from front to back I stitch slowly and hold only about 4 to 6 inches then stop, fold over and stitch a bit more.   Sometimes I think it is a rather slow process, but then I realize, I have not got stuck by a pin, or forgot to pull a pin out , and the sewing machine, even at a crawl is still 10 times faster than hand stitching.  AND machine sewing the binding down makes it much much stronger.

#6  You should never let the dog on the bed when you put a new quilt on it! 

WHY?

Then is it okay for the cat to check out the quilt?  If you go and look at the quilt label photo you will see it has dog hair already on it, so no point in this house anyway to prevent the pets from enjoying a nice new quilt that they look GREAT on anyway. HAHAHAHA!

Hope y'all are enjoying the day and finding ways to create things whilst ignoring the rules!